


Barry's first step towards a fresh start

by Thecowardlylion2



Series: Gotta Get Out [2]
Category: Barry (TV 2018)
Genre: ...unless?, Hank has a pinterest, M/M, Moving, Pining, and into a cabin, cottage core barry, he moves to Oregon, jkjkjk, new start
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25703347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thecowardlylion2/pseuds/Thecowardlylion2
Summary: Barry leaves LA and heads to Oregon!---------In which Barry self reflects a ton and tries not to get too overwhelmed by a mess of feelings and his new life.
Relationships: Barry Berkman/NoHo Hank
Series: Gotta Get Out [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1691482
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey...ahaha... So it's been awhile. I was planning on doing this sooner, but unfortunately a lot has happened since school ended, so I'm doing It now. Hope you guys like it! I'm writing the next part as we speak.

Leaving everything behind has been a pretty consistent theme in Barry’s life. The idea of moving into LA with no one there that knew him, was almost too good to be true. Except he went into LA with a job, and no matter what, as long as he continued his job as a hitman; he would not only be miserable, but his actions would sooner or later catch up to him.

Even the thought of getting caught, or roped into killing again was reason enough to keep him up at night. Not to mention keeping up with this facade of being a normal guy was really taking its toll, as well as lying to everyone around him, those not in the mob anyway. Barry knew he was hurting the people around him by lying to them and in return, they would never fully know what he was going through. He would never admit to how deeply troubling that was, not to his friends and sometimes not even to himself. This lifestyle was simply more trouble than it was worth. 

All Barry wanted was a clear slate, so he was gonna make that happen. No killing, and no one breathing down his neck. 

One glaring fact, however, was that he was never going to get rid of Noho Hank. Not that he wanted to, not really. After all the time Barry had been in LA, he somehow found a friend in one of the most unlikely people. Hank is the one person who knows the things he’s done without running away or exploiting him. That’s why he felt like it was time to take responsibility in his actions, and apologise. He didn’t want Hank to feel like Barry hadn’t valued his friendship, especially now that he was up and leaving. 

Barry’s phone buzzed, indicating that someone sent him a text. ‘Speak of the devil,’ he thought, opening his phone. 

Hank: Hey Man! How is packing going?

Looking around his stark bedroom, Barry was glad to not own many things.

Barry: Actually I’m already done.

All of his belongings could easily fit into a duffle bag, and an Amazon box. 

Hank: Wow! That was quick!  
Hank: What time are you leaving? *sent with a Bit-emoji of Hank with a question mark on his head* 

Barry: I was planning on leaving within the next hour. To avoid any questions.

He waited a few beats for Hank to respond.

Hank:😵😵😵  
Hank: You BETTER come say goodbye to me in person  
Hank: Before you take off!

Letting out a long sigh, Barry debated what to say next. ‘He is not making this easy, is he?’

Barry: I'm packing the car now. Where are you? I can stop by.

He sent the message before pocketing his phone in order to grab his stuff and head out the door. 

\-------------

Once Hank had sent him the address, Barry made his way out to the destination. Hank had been spending a lot of time at a warehouse, shared by the Chechens and Bolivians. Which is where he was, Barry wasn’t entirely thrilled about this. He HAD attempted to kill Cristobal in the past, as well as shooting a lot of his people. Hopefully, he could come say bye Hank without running into Cristobal. 

Pulling up to the warehouse, Barry parked his car. Waiting until he saw Hank turn a corner from the side of the building to get out of his car. 

“Barry!” Hank waved as he made his way up to the car.

Barry waved back, “Hey Hank-OOF,’ He started to say before Hank brought him into a big bear hug. Barry awkwardly returned the hug by patting him on the back.

“I will miss you, so much!” Hank exclaimed, pulling away. 

“You too, Hank,” he replied, “If anyone asks, just say I’m, i don’t know, fucking off in New York or something. Okay?” 

Hank gave him a sincere smile, “Your secret is safe with me, scouts honor.” He raised his right hand.

“Thanks Hank,” Barry smiled back, looking off in the far left distance near the warehouse entrance, to see Cristobal and someone else staring at them. “Who’s that?” Barry wondered out loud.

Looking behind them, Hank realized he was referring to Esther. “UGH. That is Esther, she is one scary motherfucker.” Hank said with a grimace, leaning into Barry’s personal bubble to whisper. “She is from Burmese crime family.” 

“Since when do you guys work with the Burmese?” Barry questioned.

Hank let out an exasperated sigh, “Apparently since today. We are hoping to start working with Heroin, so all hands on deck, right?”

It’s not that Barry didn’t believe in Hank’s ability to be good at his job, because he was for the most part. However, he did worry about how working in such a harsh line of work would affect him. “Hey Hank, if you ever need to get out of any of this, or you just need a break- feel free to come up to Oregon. This shit’s tricky business.”

“Thank you, Barry, that’s very kind.” Hank smiled, “but no need for worrying, I am good.” He confirmed placing a hand on Barry’s shoulder, “You can bet your ass i'm visiting though.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ayooo chapter 2!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I can depict the Oregon experience as closely as possible LOL.

For some reason, despite all of the planning, Barry had not anticipated the drive. Yes he knew it would take awhile to even get to the border, but then some in order to get to where his house would be. Barry had left his apartment in LA around noon, and made it past the Oregon border around 11 o’clock at night. This is including the time it takes to get there, as well as much needed stops for food and gas. Not to mention the periodic texts from Hank about mundane things throughout the day. He had even called him at one point to check up on Barry, who was desperately trying to resist the urge to act too fond over his very PLATONIC friend.

Once he had made it though, he decided he had had just about enough of the driving and rented out a room at a Motel 6. Getting himself rested and mentally sane before putting himself through more driving the next day was for the best. 

The house that Barry would be renting out for the foreseeable future, was surprisingly cheap. He didn't have a whole lot of experience in renting houses, but compared to an LA apartment it was a steal. Maybe he was just naive, but $500 a month for a house? At first glance that seemed a little unreal. Sure it only had one room and bath, but still. When he asked if someone died there or something, the landlord had instead informed him that it was actually haunted.

“No deaths within the past century or so, but i will warn you- this house is very haunted.” Barry had recalled her saying.

The landlord’s name was Katey, and if Barry had to guess, she was about 60 years old. Katey seemed to be pretty invested in the idea that the place was actually haunted. Which to be fair, he wasn’t, but as long as rent was cheap he’d agree with whatever ghost story or conspiracy she told him. Katey and himself had exchanged a handful of phone calls and emails prior to making arrangements to move to Oregon, making sure everything was sorted out by the time Barry was ready to leave. From an outsider's point of view it probably seemed a lot like a Nicholas Sparks movie- which Barry regrets thinking seconds after thinking it. He really couldn’t stand those movies, and it made him think about his own situation and how different it was from the romanticized lives in those stories. Really thinking about his own situation made him want to vomit, which is the main issue.

\-----------------------------------------------

The transition between LA and Oregon is a pretty smooth one, what, with all of the trees he passed. Getting used to the climate was the trickiest part for him. California had a pretty consistent amount of sun throughout the day, and Oregon’s weather is pretty temperamental. The 3-4 hours it took to get to his destination seemed like nothing compared to the 10 odd something hours the previous day.

His new house was 5 miles away from the closest town. The town was pretty small and, at first glance, it seemed to Barry like a poorer version of the town from Gilmore Girls. ‘Definitely a tourist trap’ were his first thoughts. He could tell by the bright open flags at store fronts and blatant Oregon branded marketing. 

Pulling up to his house, Barry admired the yard space, as well as the trees surrounding him. Somehow, the place was already relieving the tension in his shoulders. With less eyes on him, he supposes this would be a great place to grow- and he was completely aware of the irony in that. On another note, the house wasn’t far off from a cabin in a horror movie on the outside, though it didn’t quite look like it was built with Lincoln logs.

Katey was planning on meeting up with him the next day to tie up a couple loose ends. For now though, the key to the house was hidden under a pot by the door. Katey had given him the okay to stay at the house a night before they met, since Barry already paid for the first month. Barry saw it as a sort of trial run, maybe she was expecting him to see a ghost and high tail it out of the town. 

\------------------------------------------------

Barry had never gotten the chance to have a whole house to live in by himself. Sure he had thought about being a homeowner and raising a family in a cookie cutter neighborhood, with two dogs and a normal job. But, by himself in an unfamiliar state? In the middle of nowhere? The reality of it all became a bit overwhelming, to say the least. He didn’t even own enough stuff to fill in the entire house. Even though the house was pretty small, he just didn’t own shit. 

To put into perspective, from the front door you got a pretty good view of the living room to the right, the kitchen a little off on the left, and the bedroom door directly in front of him only a couple meters away. He explored all of the rooms individually, and discovered the only bathroom was actually located through the only bedroom which was pretty weird to him. He decided it didn’t matter too much though, it wasn’t like he would be having any company.

It was strange, Barry thought he’d regret leaving everyone behind, but he couldn’t get himself to regret his decisions at all. He tried not to think about the friends he made, in case he started to miss them too much. He especially resisted the urge to call Fuches, this was due to years of emotional manipulation. Of course he’d never do that, ‘I might be broken, but I’m not stupid enough to let him know where i am,’ he reminded himself.   
When things with Sally had ended he hadn’t really spent time mourning the short relationship. After being on the weird break, or whatever, she had attempted to rekindle what little they had- but over all they had decided it would be a bad idea, and to just stay friends. 

It had accrued to him that maybe he wasn’t interested anymore because of the realisation he came to earlier in the year. One that kept him up for nights because, how could he possibly get himself into more shit than he was already in? Ah yes, catch feelings for a member of the Chechan mafia. ‘Nice going Berkman, at least now you’re willing to admit it to yourself,’ He thought. 

Yet, there was no way he’d get the nerve to do something about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! New part will hopefully be up soon/


End file.
